A Word From the Publisher: the 2015 ENMN Conference

The 2015 Entertainment New Media Network (ENMN) Conference helped me and other bloggers to discover our superpowers and venture out of our comfort zones. (Logo property of Entertainment New Media Network)

By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com

Last week, I headed west to learn how other content producers approach blogging and what new strategies I need to do that can improve my ability as a blogger!

One of the main lessons that I learned from attending this conference was commitment! When we boarded the bus to our very first adventure: a mini-day trip to the KOA Resort in Ventura, Calif., the head of the Entertainment New Media Network (ENMN), Erica Pena Vest stated that there were several bloggers who backed out of this opportunity.   First of all, to those bloggers who skipped out…YOU DEFINITELY MISSED OUT!

While I was the token male blogger (I encourage more male bloggers to come to these conferences), I met and got to know many women from the blogging industry. They ranged from SoCal and LA family blogger Anita Utami and singer Orly Campbell, who doubles as a Cantorial student and product reviewer.

There were also plenty of women who brought numerous years of experience to the table. Melissa “MizMeliz” Reyes, who encourages her followers on finding their passion as a motivational media coach and hosts the popular podcast, 10 Minutes in Tinsel Town, which highlights people “Rockin’ their Super Stardom.” The bubbly YouTuber and self-taught baker Ashlee Marie (who played an integral part of my Instagram videos) was like the big sister I never had and guided me to discover numerous social media outlets such as Instagram video, Dubsmash and Periscope. I will be implementing some of these platforms in the near future.

In addition to meeting the amazing people, this conference was able to give me opportunities to do stuff that I would not be able to regularly do. I was in awe of how KOA of Ventura took camping to the next level by adding glam tents, rentable outlandish condos and a stupendous swimming pool and bouncing pillow, which sure to be a highlight for the kids.

As a pop culture aficionado, I was ecstatic to see the 21^st cast of Dancing with the Stars tape a promo at Hollywood and Highland and have the unique opportunity to step onto the fabled Warner Bros. Studios lot to watch Anna Faris and Alison Janney film an episode of their highly successful CBS sitcom Mom. I would also like to thank both the Hard Rock Cafés of Hollywood and Universal Studios Hollywood for opening up their doors early for us on Friday and Saturday. I enjoyed seeing several memorabilia from some of my favorite musical acts such as Sir Elton John, Tina Turner, AC/DC and the late Janis Joplin.

Finally, the conference gave me the opportunity to explore different avenues outside the world of blogging. From learning about the world of affiliate marketing from Affiliate Manager’s Angie Stockman and how Jeffrey Barnes channeled his love for Disney to create a hot selling Amazon book: The Wisdom of Walt to navigating the PR world with Steve Rohr and Annie Drury, these lessons definitely helped the attendees learn new tricks that they could add to their arsenal.

I want to personally thank Erica Pena West and Margaret Salmond for their time and determination with planning this conference. In addition, I also want to thank the speakers who took time out of their busy schedules to come and speak to us. All of your presentations were extremely fascinating and made an impact on my fellow bloggers and I. Lastly, thank you to my fellow bloggers who made this conference fun and fascinating! I cannot wait to catch up with all of you in the future!

To learn more about the Entertainment New Media Network, click here!